There is no better way to understand Russian propaganda and disinformation than to “peek behind the curtain” and see what goes on inside the apparatus.

We are able to do this thanks to the publication of a very revealing series of instructions for propaganda and disinformation themes following the murder of former Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov on February 27, 2015.  Similar tactics were redeployed after the attempted assassinations of Sergei Skripal in 2018 and opposition leader Alexei Navalny in 2020.  (Photo of Boris Nemtsov speaking on the street in 2012.  Credit: Shutterstock)

An internal document reveals the themes and information that trolls at the Internet Research Agency (IRA) were instructed to spread following the Nemtsov murder.  It is titled “Assignments for Savushkina 55. February 28-March 7, 2015,” a reference to the IRA’s address in St. Petersburg.  It was leaked to the St. Petersburg-based website MR7.ru reportedly by Ludmila Savchuk, an internet activist who had infiltrated the IRA, working there for two months.  The IRA, financed by the Kremlin-linked oligarch Yevgeniy Prigozhin, specializes in disinformation and propaganda and interferes in political systems and elections worldwide.

Savchuk said she was working at the IRA on February 27, 2015, when the trolls were ordered to stop their usual tasks and focus on posting content on the Nemtsov murder.  “They wanted us to promote speculation that Nemtsov might have been the one to orchestrate his own murder.  That it was Ukrainians who killed him.  Or the opposition was to blame, and they did it just to make the Russian government look bad,” Savchuk said. (Photo of Savchuk: credit: Naira Davlashyan and Soren Bidstrup)

The instructions for February 28 say the “main idea” regarding the subject of Russia’s internal opposition should be, “the murder of opposition leader Nemtsov was not beneficial to the official authorities, it is obvious that there is a provocation behind this.” 

[Note: The italicized sections in the discussion of the Nemtsov murder below are quotations from instructions for the trolls.  They were done using Google Translate.]

The trolls were instructed to repeat the statement of Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov: “Putin noted that this brutal murder has all the signs of a contract [killing] and is exclusively provocative in nature.”

Although "provocation" is the accepted translation of the Russian word provokatsiya, the word in English “does not begin to capture its ability in Russian to shift blame and manipulate suspicion,” TIME journalist Simon Shuster wrote the day after Nemtsov’s murder.

The term “provocation” has a special meaning for Russian intelligence professionals.  It is defined as “creating circumstances and incriminating evidence which compromise targeted individuals” in the authoritative KGB Lexicon, a 450-page dictionary of terms used by the KGB.  The Russian state determination to portray the murder of Nemtsov as a deliberate “provocation” by others, allegedly done in order to make the Kremlin look bad, reveals their deeply conspiratorial mindset.

The terms “provocation” or “provocative” appear more than 50 times in the instructions for February 28 on what IRA trolls should say regarding the Nemtsov murder, including:

• “It looks like a brutal bloody provocation organized with the same goals for which Boeing [MH-17] was shot down. Namely -- in order to stir up the public inside the country and raise the heat of anti-Russian hysteria outside,” said Ivan Melnikov, First Deputy Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and First Deputy Speaker of the State Duma. 
• “This is definitely a provocation, it is definitely not beneficial to Putin and it is aimed at simply shattering everything,” said Irina Khakamada, the former co-chairman of the Union of Right Forces party.
• “It is clear that this was a provocation before the [major opposition] rally on March 1, and the place was chosen symbolically - not far from the Kremlin. ...,” said Yevgeny Minchenko, director of the International Institute of Political Expertise. 
• This is a clear provocation aimed at a surge of discontent among opposition representatives, who will start calling for rallies and rallies to overthrow the government.  [boldface emphasis added].

Provocation is also one of the keywords the trolls are instructed to repeat.

If the murder of Nemtsov was supposedly organized by others, who should the IRA trolls blame for this?  The instructions initially suggest:

• The Russian opposition: The publicist Dmitry Olshansky claims “the unfortunate Boris Nemtsov was sacrificed” and “his corpse is like an electric shock to revive the opposition.  To go out; to be indignant.”
• The West: Political scientist Alexander Topalov says the murder may have happened at “the hands of Western special services.”  The instructions recommend an article in Russia’s Vzglyad newspaper with the sinister title, “By the hands of Western intelligence services before March 1.” 

A major rally was scheduled for March 1 in Moscow, originally intended to protest Russian involvement in Ukraine.  Nemtsov was supposed to lead it.  Following his murder, it became a march to mourn him and honor his memory.  (Photo of a demonstrator holding a picture of Boris Nemtsov on the first anniversary of his death.  Credit: Shutterstock)

Soon, the instructions tell the trolls to also start blaming Ukrainian oligarchs for Nemtsov’s death:

Main idea: we form an opinion that Ukrainian leaders may be involved in the death of a Russian opposition leader. 

News item: media: Ukrainian oligarchs could have removed Nemtsov for failing to destabilize Russia.

The instructions contain detailed allegations for the trolls to spread:

Nemtsov himself traveled to Ukraine more than once, and it is no secret that there he actively contacted representatives of the local political and business elite, representing the “war party.”

“They could transfer funds to him to destabilize the situation in Russia. For this money, Ukrainian oligarchs could well have expected a split in Russian society from Nemtsov. However, not only did a split not happen, but on the contrary, there was a consolidation of Russian society. Realizing that they would not get the result, Nemtsov's sponsors could remove the politician who failed to complete the task,” a source in the Investigative Brigade announced this version.

Another version of the murder is also political.  “It could have been a contract murder, the purpose of which is to strike at the current government through a provocation. External and internal opponents could choose a “victim” to destabilize the situation in Russia,” the source said.  [boldface emphasis added].

These instructions to the trolls are a textbook case of how to use innuendo and words that can be used to mislead such as “could” to try to make the most outrageous, unsupported claims seem plausible.  The propagandists use the word “could” five times in two short paragraphs in their effort to construct a seemingly plausible conspiracy.  Words like “could,” “might,” “may,” “can,” and others are well known “weasel words,” which have been described as “phrases that are designed to sound authoritative,” but which are often used to try to “persuade without evidence.” 

If one ignores facts, evidence, and reasonable probabilities, one can argue that almost anything “could” theoretically happen.  Some have even speculated that the sun could rise in the West, not the East – if the Earth was hit by a gigantic asteroid that caused it to start spinning in the opposite direction.  That extremely far-fetched idea “could” possibly happen.  But the more relevant question is how likely is it to happen?  The instructions tell IRA trolls to use innuendo and weasel words in their effort to “persuade without evidence,” to suggest far-fetched theoretical possibilities that have no basis in reality.

The instructions also recommend another article from Vzglyad, which claims, “Ukrainian oligarchs could have removed Nemtsov for failing to destabilize Russia.”  Vzgyglad, which is affiliated with the Kremlin’s “Presidential Administration,” is typically recommended as the preferred reference source for the trolls to stay “on message.”

The instructions also note, “It was decided to interrogate Nemtsov in the case of the theft of a painting confiscated from [fellow opposition leader Alexei] Navalny.”  Apparently, no suspicion is too far-fetched to mention in the search for a reason to try to blame the murder on the opposition.

The instructions stress that Russian President Vladimir Putin created a group to investigate the murder that is operating “under [his] personal control.”  Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added, “The President of the Russian Federation expresses deep condolences to the family and friends of the tragically deceased Boris Nemtsov.”

On March 5, additional instructions for the IRA acknowledge that prominent Russian opposition figures have blamed the Kremlin for Nemtsov’s murder, and direct the IRA to undermine these claims.  The instructions list the main arguments put forward by Alexei Navalny:

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has accused the political leadership of Russia, including President Vladimir Putin, of organizing the assassination of Boris Nemtsov.

“I believe that Nemtsov was killed by members of a government (special service) or pro-government organization on the orders of the country’s political leadership (including Vladimir Putin),” the oppositionist [Navalny] wrote on his blog on Tuesday, March 3. …

He [Navalny] also called for an end to talk about the fact that “it [killing Nemtsov] is not profitable for Putin.” “Don’t lie to yourself. [It is] profitable. Fear must grow, economic problems must be compensated for by police control. If simply fabricating criminal cases does not produce the necessary degree of fear, then demonstrative violence is necessary; otherwise, no one will believe in your toughness ….”

The oppositionist also tried to dispel claims about Nemtsov's “unpopularity and lack of influence.” According to Navalny, Boris Nemtsov was “one of the most problematic politicians for the Kremlin.” In particular, Navalny notes that the murdered oppositionist was one of the few who “denounced the corruption of Putin and his inner circle,” was well versed in topics painful for the Kremlin, [and] was ready to go to the polls ….”

The IRA trolls are instructed to argue in response:

The theses voiced by Navalny are absolutely no different from the statements made two or three years ago: “Putin is to blame, Putin has done everything bad, the Kremlin’s hand is visible everywhere” (all without proof).

Regarding exiled opposition figure Gary Kasparov, the instructions note:

Before the US Senate, world chess champion Garry Kasparov called Putin and his elite a “cancerous tumor” that needs to be excised.  [Kasparov says] Boris Nemtsov was killed because … Putin and his leadership believe that after 15 years in power, nothing is impossible for them, there is no such red line.

The trolls are instructed to try to disparage Kasparov’s motives by saying, “This act of Kasparov in the US Senate shows the duplicity of the oppositionist, ready to go to any lengths in order to earn the respect of the West.”

By the end of the week, the instructions focus on the search for Nemtsov’s killers.  Five suspects from Chechnya were arrested. The main suspect, Zaur Dudayev, had been an officer in the security forces of Chechnya’s leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, a close Putin ally who called Putin a “superhero” who should rule for life.  In 2020, Kadyrov said, “I have always said and again I repeat that I am a faithful soldier of our president and I am ready to carry out any order of whatever complexity on any continent.”  (Photo of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov; credit: Mikhail Metzel/TASS)

Longtime Nemtsov ally Ilya Yashin commented, “Our worst fears are being realized. A scapegoat will be held responsible for the crime and those who really ordered it—within the government—will remain free.”

Shortly after the arrests, President Putin awarded the “Order of Honor” to Kadyrov.  At the same time, he also gave the same award to former KGB officer Andrei Lugovoi, who had been charged by British authorities with the 2006 London murder of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko with radioactive polonium.  The following year, Lugovoi was elected to the Russian Duma.

In 2017, the five suspects were convicted of Nemtsov’s murder.  One of the lawyers for Nemtsov’s family, Vadim Prokhorov, believed “a significant portion of the perpetrators and, moreover, all of the organizers of the crime have escaped responsibility so far.”  He said he was convinced “the trail leads to [Kadyrov’s] close circle.” 

The revelation of the instructions to the IRA trolls provides a rare glimpse at how Russian propaganda and disinformation are created.  Convoluted conspiracy theories about supposed provocations are put forward as real possibilities.  Disinformation is the “go to” tool when the Russian state is suspected of especially despicable actions like the murder of Nemtsov, the attempted assassination of Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, England, or the downing of the MH-17 civilian airliner in 2014.

The immediate imperative is to deflect suspicion away from the Russian state, which is often best achieved by blaming others, preferably one’s enemies.

On March 4, 2018, former Russian military intelligence officer Sergei Skirpal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with the Russian nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury, England, but survived.  Skripal had spied for the British, was arrested in 2004, convicted and jailed, but pardoned and sent to the UK in 2010 in a prisoner exchange.  (Photo: Sergei Skripal at his 2006 trial in Moscow and Yulia Skripal.  Credit: https://inews.co.uk/)

Novichok, which means “newcomer” in Russian, is the name for a class of extremely powerful nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union and Russia.  On March 12, 2018, then-British Prime Minister Teresa May said it was “highly likely” Russia was responsible for the poisoning. 

Dr. Vil Mirzayanov exposed the existence of Novichok agents in the early 1990s, after working for 26 years as a chemist in the State Scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology in Moscow, where they were developed.  His final job was to try to ensure that the secret work on chemical weapons would not be detected.  He said, “Slowly over time I came to the conclusion that I was participating in this criminal enterprise. And after that, I decided to go to the public with revelations.”  He was shocked the USSR continued to develop chemical weapons despite having signed an agreement in 1990 with the United States to stop producing and testing them.

Once again, the Russian authorities said claims of Russian involvement in the Skripal poisoning were a provocation:

• The Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service Sergei Naryshkin called it a “grotesque provocation rudely staged by the British and U.S. intelligence agencies”
• “We can only see it as a provocation,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

President Putin claimed Moscow had no desire to kill Skripal. “Why would anybody be interested in him? He got punished. He was detained, arrested, sentenced, and then spent five years in prison,” Putin said in an interview.

As in the Nemtsov case, the Kremlin’s perceived enemies were blamed: the UK, the United States, Ukraine; exiled Russian oligarchs, American businessman William Browder, Yulia’s Skripal’s future mother-in-law.  Anybody but the Kremlin could have poisoned Skripal, Russian propagandists claimed.

Additional false claims as compiled by EUvsDisinformation included:

• It never happened; the Skripals were not poisoned.
• It wasn’t Novichok: it was a NATO toxin or Fentanyl; Novichok doesn’t exist or was invented elsewhere; Skripal was smuggling chemical weapons.
• These accusations are Russophobia, Nazi propaganda, vilification; the West is claiming Russia is a nation of criminals.
• It’s a provocation invented for an ulterior motive: to justify sanctions, increase NATO’s military budget; justify more NATO troops in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, boycott the upcoming World Cup tournament in Russia, prepare for war against Russia, influence Russian elections, divert attention from Brexit or Western scandals, harm Russia’s reputation as a peacemaker.

On August 20, 2020 the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny became violently ill and collapsed on a domestic flight from Tomsk to Moscow. After an emergency landing in Omsk, Navalny was admitted into the toxicology unit of a local hospital and two days later, was flown to the Charité hospital in Berlin, at the request of his family.  (Alexei Navalny in a hospital in Germany with his family, after his poisoning.  Credit: @NAVALNY)

Laboratories in Germany, France, and Sweden “independently provided evidence of a substance from the Novichok group as the cause of Mr. Navalny’s poisoning,” German government spokesman Steffen Seibert noted.  This indicated Russian state involvement.

Russian state efforts to deflect blame began immediately:

• Putin promoted the notion that it would be irrational for Moscow to kill Navalny. “Who needs him? If somebody had wanted to poison him, they would have finished him off,” Putin said.
• The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it was not in the interest of the Russian leadership to poison Navalny.
• Russia’s Permanent Mission to the European Union argued that it would make no sense for Russia to poison Navalny because he had a low “popularity level” and posed no political threat to the authorities. “Would there be any rationale behind the Russian authorities’ alleged decision to poison…Navalny…and then to do their utmost to save his life and let him go for further medical treatment to Germany, where “Novichok” could be identified?” the Mission asked.

Every possible argument was used to try to avoid blame.  The various false claims included:

• Navalny’s poisoning is a provocation of Western intelligence services to make him a “sacrificial victim” to re-energize the Russian opposition.
• Navalny wasn’t poisoned.
• Navalny could have been poisoned on the plane to Germany.
• Navalny’s colleague Mariya Pevchih is a British intelligence agent and may be connected to the poisoning.
• Navalny poisoned himself.
• Navalny was poisoned by “village moonshine.”
• Navalny suffered from a metabolic decease and his coma could have been caused by anything from a bad diet to excessive fatigue to overheating or overcooling to alcohol use.
• Navalny’s illness is a result of “psychosomatic stress, overzealous dieting, low blood sugar…a flare-up of an unspecified chronic illness” and a self-poisoning from psychiatric medication.
• Russia doesn’t possess Novichok; it is a “purely Western brand.”
• Navalny is a mouthpiece for the CIA.

In Russia, such claims are often effective.  A late 2020 poll of Russians by the independent Levada-Center showed:

• “Only 15% believed what happened to Navalny was an attempt by the authorities to rid themselves of a political opponent.”
• “30% thought that the incident was stage-managed and that there was no poisoning.”
• “19% said they believed it was a provocation orchestrated by Western intelligence services.”

A clear pattern emerges that shows when Russia is under intense suspicion for involvement in the assassination of a political opponent, the Russian authorities relentlessly and shamelessly invent excuses including:

• An appeal to common sense as it is understood in the West (it would make no sense to do this)
• Blaming enemies for a “provocation”
• Making the most wild and improbable claims. 

The instructions to IRA trolls in the wake of Nemtsov’s murder provide evidence of the cynicism of those involved in originating the disinformation claims.

For more, see:

• Задания кремлеботам на Савушкина, 55. 28 февраля - 7 марта 2015 (Assignments for Kremlebots at 55 Savushkina St. February 28 - March 7, 2015)
• “Why the Kremlin Is Blaming Putin Critic's Murder on a 'Provocation',” by Simon Shuster, TIME, February 28, 2015
• “Understanding Provocation,” The XX Committee blog, March 29, 2014
• “Dismantling the Soviet/Russian Chemical Weapons Complex: An Insider’s View,” Dr. Vil Mirzayanov
• EUvsDisinfo, “TIMELINE: HOW RUSSIA BUILT TWO MAJOR DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS,” April 27, 2018
• EUvsDisinfo, “Disinfo Database: Navalny”

Next issue: “Exploiting Primal Fears"

Past issues: (also available in Russian, Spanish, French, and Arabic)

• #1: A Counter-Disinformation System That Works, January 8, 2020
• #2: Three Ways to Counter Disinformation, February 11, 2020
• #3: The Myth that Debunking Doesn’t Work, March 25, 2020
• #4: What Works in Debunking, April 14, 2020
• #5: The Coronavirus and Disinformation: Russia Remains True to Form, May 27, 2020
• #6: Using Pseudo-Academic Online Journals to Amplify Fringe Voices, September 28, 2020
• #7: Building an International Disinformation Network, November 10, 2020
• #8: What Can We Learn from the Active Measures Working Group?, December 1, 2020
• #9: Clandestine Disinformation and Agents of Influence, March 23, 2021
• #10: The Extraordinary Scope and Breadth of Russian Propaganda and Disinformation, June 7, 2021
• #11: The Goals and Main Tactics of Russia’s Disinformation, August 23, 2021

To contact us, email: GECDisinfoDispatches@state.gov